Elevator guide shoe



May 9, 1933. R. 1 HENRY 1,907,966

ELEVATOR GUIDE SHOE Filed April l1, 1951 7 INVENTOR ATTORNEY PatentedMay 9, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RALPH L. HENRY, OF DETROIT,MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T0 IIENRITE PRODUCTS CORPORATION, OF IRONTON, OHIO, ACORPORATION OF OHIO nnrnrn'iorfu GUIDE sHoE Application led April 11,

This invention relates, generally, to slide bearing guide shoes; and theinvention has reference, more particularly, to a novel elevator guideshoe especially adapted for use 5 on elevator cars for engaging thehatchway guide rails to guide the car in its movement up and down thehatchway.

Elevator guide shoes as heretofore generally constructed consist usuallyof metal m members such as cast iron members which are itted rigidly inguide shoe holders .mounted on the elevator car frame. The use of thesemetallic guide shoes fixedly mounted in their holders is objectionableon present day high speed elevator equipment because of the noise theycreate and the jarring and pounding caused by the rapid movement of themetallic shoes along the guide rails, resulting in rapid wear of theguide shoes. It is impracticable to install and maintain adjoining guiderails in accurate alignment and consequently, as these rigidly supportedguide shoes move along the guide rails, there is more' or less vibrationor noise as the same pass from one guide rail section to the nextsucceeding guide rail section, which noise increases in proportion tothe elevator speed.

The principal object of the present invention lies in the provision of anovel elevator guide shoe which is provided with cushioning material onthe surfaces thereof contacting with the guide shoe holder, whereby theshoe is rendered practically self-aligning in the holder and issubstantially noiseless in operation due to the cushioning andsound-deadening action of the cushioning material.

Another object of the present invention is to `provide a novel guideshoe which is adapted to be made not only of metal or other suitablematerial but also of molded material having self-lubricating properties,the said guide shoe having a cushioning and elastic covering as of corkinterposed between the same and the guide shoe holder.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularlyenumerated, will be clearly understood from the following detaileddescription of the same.

1931. Serial No. 529,388.

Theinvention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawing, inwhich Fig. l is a fragmentary view in elevation illustrating an elevatorcar frame having a holder provided with the novel guide shoe of thepresent invention for engaging the hatchway guide rail.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2--2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the novel guide shoe of the presentinvention; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of construction.

Similar characters of reference are employed in all of the abovedescribed views to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring now to said drawing, the reference numeral l designates anelevator car frame having a bracket 2 attached thereto, which bracketcarries an elevator guide shoe holder 8 provided with the n-ovel guideshoe 4 of the present invention. Guide shoe 4 engages the hatchway guiderail 5 to guide the elevator car in its movement along the hatchway.Clips 6 are illustrated as attached y to the guide shoe holder 3 andengage in rabbets 7 provided in the ends of the guideshoes 4 forretaining the guide shoe within the holder 3.

As especially illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, i. the guide shoe 4comprises a substantially U- shaped body having an interior recess 8 forconforming to the guide rail 5. The guide shoe 4 may be made of anysuitable material such as cast iron, but preferably the same is made'ofmolded material having self-lubricating properties. It has been found inpractice that a molded material consisting of asbestos, graphite and acondensation product such as bakelite, serves very well for thispurpose. The asbestos ingredient gives the desired body to thecomposition or material, the graphite ingredient serves to give thecomposition the desired self-lubricating qualities and the condensationproduct serves as a binder.

A composition consisting of the following percentages by weight of theserespective ingredients has been found to be very satisfactory inpractice.

P rcent Asbestos- Q* 60 also renders the guideshoe substantially selfGraphite 20 Condensation product (bakelite) 20 A simple method offorming the guide shoe t is to prepare an intimate mix of the aboveproportions of the ingredients in finely divided or powdered form, andthen to place this mix into a mold of the proper shape and to eithercold or preferably hot mold the mix with the application of suit-ableVpressure.

The guide shoe thus produced is found to beV It is desired to point out.that in practice y it has been found that the percentages of the severalingrediente making up the compositionof the guide sh-oemay be variedwithin reasonable limits, nor .is it essential that the specificingredients above listed shall be used. Y

For example, instead of using 60%V asbestos in the above recitedcomposition, it has been found that the percentage of asbestos maybereduced to 30%, and 30% feldspar added in lieu of the'remainingportion of asbestos. i

The upper and lower end portions of the guide rail receiving recess 8 ispreferably outwardly flared as indicated at 10, thereby causing theguide shoe'to ride easily from one guide rail section onto an adjoiningsection even if the sections are misaligned. VThe exterior surfaceportions of the guide shoe 4 which lie within the holder 3 are providedwith a covering 11 of cushioning material. The covering 11 isillustrated in the drawing as made up' of three sheets or panels whichare secured as by gluing to the three exterior surfaces areas ofthe/'guide shoe positioned within the holder 3. The covering 11 is pref-'erably of substantial thickness and acts to cushion the guide shoewithin its holder and enables the guide shoe to align itself with theguide rail which itfengages whether'or not this guide rail is alignedwith the guide shoe holder 3.

Various substances may be used in forming the cushioning material 1l,but preferably comminuted cork held together by a Ysuitable -linder oradhesive and formed into panels or slabs is employed, though ordinarysheet cork may also be used. In practice, this cork cushioning materialis glued or 1 otherwise 'adhered to the guide shoe and when the guideshoe is mounted in its holder this cushioning material substantiallyeliminates noise regardless of the elevator car speed and aligning sothat there is no pounding or jarring of the guide shoe against thisholder as the car moves up and down the hatchway. As the guide shoemoves onto a misaligned guide rail, the -cushioning material 11 yieldssufliciently to enable the guide shoe to adjust itself to the guide railwithout unduly influencing or stressing the guide shoe holder 3.

Although cork is preferably usedin forming the cushioning material 11,it is to be understoodthat other materials may be used satisfactorily.For example, rubber may be employed for this purpose, or even Hat steelcushioning springs may be used as illustrated in Fig. 4. In this ligure,the flat steel or leaf springs 13 are secured as by headed pins orscrews la to the three exterior lsurfaces of the bodyv 4:' which litwithin the guide shoe holder 3; The springs 13 cushion the guide shoebody l in its holder and enable the guide shoe to align itself with theguide rail.

It will be noted that the novel guide shoe of the present invention isof extremely simple construction and is so designed as to besubstantially noiseless, self-aligning and easy running in use, the samehaving a long `life in practice. When the novel guide shoe is made ofthe preferred molded material, the same is self-lubricating and is welladapted for use on the highest speed elevators.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingshall be .interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. i

What is claimed is 1. An elevator guide shoe for use in elevator guideshoe holders comprising, a rigid body provided with an elevator guiderail receiving recess therein, said body having an exterior surfaceportion shaped to conform to theV guide shoe holder, and resilientcushioning means adhered to said exterior' surface portion forinterposition between the rigid body of said guide shoe and the guideshoe holder, whereby said guide shoe is rendered substantiallyself-aligning in the guide shoe holder and running noises are deadened.

2. An elevator guide shoe for use in elevator guideV shoe holderscomprising, a rigid cushioning material serving to cause said guide shoeto be substantially self-aligning in its holder and also serving as asounddeadening medium, whereby the guide shoe and its holder may move athigh speed without noise.

3. An elevator guide shoe for use in elevator guide shoe holderscomprising, a rigid substantially U-shaped bearing body proided with aninterior elevator guide rail receiving recess, said body having anexterior surface portion adapted to conform to the guide shoe holder,and a layer of resilient cushioning material adhered to said exteriorsurface portion for interposition between the rigid body of said guideshoe and the rigid guide shoe holder, said resilient cushioning materialconsisting of sheet cork and serving to cause said guide shoe to besubstantially self-aligning in its holder and also serving as asound-deadening inediuin, whereby the guide shoe and its holder may moveat high speed without noise.

4. An elevator guide shoe for use in elevator guide shoe holderscomprising, arigid molded bearing body having self-lubricatingproperties, said body having an interior elevator guide rail receivingrecess, and an exterior surface portion adapted to conform to the guideshoe holder, resilient cushioning material fixed upon said exteriorportion for cushioning said guide shoe within its holder., said guideshoe beine formed with recesses therein for receiving clamping means tohold the same in position in its holder.`

5. In combination, an elevator guide shoe, a guide shoe holder having` areceiving recess therein for receiving said elevator guide shoe,fasteners carried by said guide shoe holder and engaging said guide shoefor retaining said guide shoe in position within saidholder recess, saidguide shoe comprising, a rigid body provided with an elevator guide railreceiving recess therein, said body having an exterior surface portionshaped to conform to said guide shoe holder, and resilient cushioningmeans interposed between the rigid body of said guide shoe and saidguide shoe holder, whereby said guide shoe is rendered substantiallyself-aligning in said guide shoe holderand running noises are deadened.

In testimony that l claim the invention set forth above I have hereuntoset my hand this 28th day of March, 1931.

RALPH L. HENRY.

